Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Animals?

Two of Toronto’s animal attractions - the Toronto Zoo and Centre Island’s Far Enough Farm - are both seriously hurting for dough.

Far Enough Farm got some good news from the city earlier this month after councilors agreed to keep funding the petting zoo.

Beasley Amusements, which operates Centre Island, dished $30,000 out of its own pocket to keep Far Enough Farm going and will match funds donated by the public by up to another $30,000. The goal is to raise as much as $50,000 in public donations.

Ashley Madison – the site dedicated to helping married people cheat on their spouses – offered Far Enough Farm the $220,000 it needs to save it, with of course a renaming. Sexual innuendo for a petting zoo resulted in a non-deal.

The much larger Toronto Zoo has been in trouble for years, with the city looking for a solution. It’s currently subsidized by about $12-million a year, earning about $42-million a year including the contribution. It costs $43-million to run.

Fordsy wants to have a private company run the zoo to cover costs, meaning it would have a corporate brand attached to it. A poll last year showed that 73% of Torontonians don’t want to see the zoo closed or sold off.